The Love of a Traitor
by LemonPuddingz
Summary: This was a One Shot request for a friend on Quizilla.  Shana is unimpressed with her life as an Espada, until she meets a certain orange-haired substitute soul reaper.


"Shana" said Aizen. Espada number zero turned and locked her sapphire blue eyes with his brown ones.

"Yes?" she asked, her emotionless gaze burning into him.

"I want you to go with Ulquiorra and Yammy to observe Ichigo Kurosaki" said Aizen.

"Why? They can't handle a few humans on their own?" she asked sarcastically. "How pathetic."

"You will go with them" stated Aizen. She shrugged and turned her back to him, brushing past Grimmjow and Aaroniero on her way out. They knew she was the only one who could get away with talking back to Aizen. She was almost more powerful than him, after all.

They had all finally arrived. There were five of them in all, and Yammy was taking them all on. Ichigo was a tall man with spiky orange hair and somewhat impressive ability. He had blocked one of Yammy's punches with his sword and made it look easy. Ulquiorra didn't seem to be concerned about the situation.

Shana's long, black hair was gently moved by a slight breeze. There was no reason for her to be there. Yammy was the only one fighting. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Ichigo. His spiritual pressure was immense but he didn't seem to be using it all. She suddenly became interested in fighting him.

"Yammy!" she yelled. "Let me fight Ichigo Kurosaki!" That was when the five of them seemed to first take notice of her.

"Who is that?" asked Ichigo. She stepped forward, her black robes completely open in the front, just covering her breasts and exposing her hollow hole directly underneath them. Straps held her robes up and left her shoulders exposed, showing off the blue butterflies on her right shoulder. Two identical necklaces wrapped themselves around her neck; each with a red teardrop shaped gem.

She used sonido and appeared in front of Ichigo. "I am Shana Kariori, Espada number zero." Ichigo didn't quite know what to make of her. She swung her leg to kick him but he dodged it.

"Hey! I don't care how strong you are… I'm not going to fight a girl!" yelled Ichigo.

"You don't have a choice!" she yelled back as she continued to attack him. He was only blocking her but she still giggled at how weak his blocks were. Still… he was more impressive up close. She drew her zanpaku-to and charged him. He blocked again and stood his ground. She pressed down on his blade with her own. For a moment she studied his face. Now that she had a closer look at him, he was actually pretty hot. While she was distracted by the thought, he forced her away from him.

"Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled as he swung his zanpaku-to. White light came from it and traveled towards her. She brought her zanpaku-to up in front of her and easily sliced through his attack.

"Now things are getting interesting" she said as she lowered her zanpaku-to slightly to get a better look at him. His spiritual pressure was growing. She charged him again, slicing at him but missing. A woman with dark purple hair and yellow eyes suddenly appeared and sliced Yammy's arm off.

"Huh?" said Shana, she stopped attacking and looked over at the gory scene. She recognized this woman who had just injured Yammy and this woman seemed to remember her too.

"We're leaving" said Ulquiorra suddenly and he opened the portal. Shana ran over and retrieved Yammy's arm before following into the portal. She glanced back as it closed to see Ichigo watching her.

"I know who she is" said the woman who had chopped off Yammy's arm. "She is Kariori Shana. Before she died, she was the captain of the eleventh squad. She was powerful then and she still is."

Shana laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. Ulquiorra had reported to Aizen that Ichigo wasn't a threat. It had been two weeks since their encounter in the living world and she should have forgotten him already but she couldn't. Maybe it was something about his eyes or hair or the way he fought… maybe she just thought he was strange, but something was keeping her from forgetting him.

"Love at first sight?" asked a voice in her head.

"Shut it, Kira. That's not it" she replied.

"I can see your thoughts and I know that you wont stop thinking about him" Kira retorted.

"Just shut it" she snapped. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. "What?" she yelled.

"Lord Aizen would like to speak with you" said the messenger.

She rolled out of bed and walked to the door. The messenger was gone. She used sonido to get to Aizen's throne room and entered without knocking. Everyone watched as she strode up to Aizen and bowed curtly.

"Ah, Shana, good of you to come" Aizen said with a grin.

"You called" Shana stated.

"Yes, well I have a job for you" said Aizen. Shana looked at him to signify that she was listening. "I want you to go to the world of the living and eliminate Ichigo Kurosaki."

There as a short silence as his words echoed in her ears. "You want me to what?" she asked.

"Eliminate Ichigo Kurosaki" he said, more slowly this time. "And you will do it."

"It's a waste of my time" Shana growled.

"You will do it and you will leave now" he said sternly. Shana growled and walked out without another word.

Shana had been observing Ichigo for a week. She was hoping to find an opening in which she could attack him.

'What a waste of time' she thought as she watched Ichigo at his school desk. 'All Aizen ever does is waste my time.'

Suddenly, the screech of a hollow filled the air. Ichigo seemed to notice it too. He popped a soul candy in his mouth and she hid as he flew past her. She followed him to a small park where the hollow was after a little girl. Ichigo made quick work of the hollow, slicing its mask in two with a sweep of his blade. It actually was quite impressive for he had barely moved. He performed the konso for the little girl and silently walked back to the school.

Shana could not help but feel admiration for Ichigo. She remembered what it was like to be a soul reaper and to help souls pass on. 'When my existence meant something' she thought.

Another week passed. Shana continued to watch Ichigo from afar. She seemed to be prolonging his death sentence. He was working with the Visards to gain control of his hollow. His friends were all training as well. They were all preparing for the war with the arrancar.

Shana was lounging in a tree within hearing distance of the place Ichigo was training when suddenly a rip opened in the sky. She recognized the presences within it. There was Yammy, Wonderwice, Luppi, and Grimmjow. Ichigo suddenly flew past her and at them.

'Why are they attacking now?" she wondered as she followed Ichigo. It wasn't long before Ichigo encountered Grimmjow. Shana watched in interest as they fought. Ichigo was far too weak to defeat Grimmjow. Even after activating his bankai he didn't quite have what it took. Grimmjow seemed to have the upper hand until Ichigo brought his hand to his face and a mask formed over it. His spiritual pressure greatly increased and she felt the presence of a hollow. 'Was this the ability he was working on?' Shana thought. His speed had increased exponentially and he suddenly had the upper hand.

Shana watched as Grimmjow was being easily beaten. The fight continued this way until the mask broke. Ichigo seemed shocked that the mask had broken and it didn't take long for Grimmjow to take advantage of his sudden weakness. He sliced open Ichigo's chest and kneed him in the stomach, sending him flying across town, skidding to a violent stop on a road. Grimmjow was fast to bury his sword in Ichigo's wrist, pinning it to the ground. Grimmjow seemed bent on doing Shana's job for her. For only a moment she felt something… what was it? Worry? Concern? Was it for him or for herself if she failed? It didn't matter because Grimmjow's hand was suddenly encased in ice. Shana turned to see that a short female soul reaper had shown up. She attacked again and encased Grimmjow in ice and ran forward to help Ichigo.

Shana should have run forward to help Grimmjow but she couldn't bring herself to. She wanted more to run forward and free Ichigo. The girl was trying to free him when Grimmjow broke the ice he was encased in and grabbed her head. He began to charge his cero when he was attacked again. This time it was a blond man. Grimmjow yanked his zanpaku-to out of Ichigo's arm and began to fight the man.

"He's weak and open. Kill him" said Kira.

Shana looked down at Ichigo. Kira was right. It was the best and least risky time to attack him. She leapt forward and ran towards them, pulling out her blade.

"Howl in the dead of the night, Kira!" she yelled. Neither of the soul reapers had time to react. The air grew thick and heavy around them and became dark. Each of them were seeing their worst fears. She stood and waited and she couldn't help but notice a nagging feeling at the back of her mind. Was it concern again? Ichigo suddenly screamed in fear. The nagging feeling grew and blossomed all at once.

"No!" she said as she stopped her zanpaku-to. "I can't do it." Ichigo and the other collapsed on the ground, unharmed by Shana. She ran over and lifted Ichigo's head into her lap. This feeling… was it love? She heard a portal open behind her and turned to see Ulquiorra staring down at her. 'Now I'll be marked as a traitor for sure' she thought.

"Get away from him!" yelled the short shinigami. Shana quickly stood and backed up. The other Espada were gone. "You tried to kill us!" the shorty added.

"I'm sorry" said Shana.

"I'll kill you!" yelled the girl and she raised her zanpaku-to to Shana.

"I'm sorry!" said Shana and she turned and ran.

Shana watched and followed them for the rest of the night. She stayed out of sight until morning and then she entered Ichigo's room. All night she had wanted to be near him but she didn't understand why. He seemed so peaceful when he slept. She sat on the floor and began to dose off.

She was nearly asleep when there was a sudden crash. Her eyes snapped back open to see Ichigo on his head. He had fallen out of bed. "Ow… what a way to wake up" he grumbled. He looked over and saw Shana. "What are you doing here?" he yelled as he pointed to her.

"I really don't know" she answered.

"You don't know?" he growled.

"Well, I've probably been labeled a traitor by now" Shana said. "I didn't kill you and I had the perfect chance to do it."

"What do you mean you didn't kill me?" he yelled.

"Aizen sent me here to kill you but I couldn't do it!" she yelled back.

Ichigo opened his mouth to yell again but the window opened and a white-haired soul reaper was in it. He stared at Shana and she stared back and after a short staring contest they both drew their zanpaku-to.

"Whoa!" yelled Ichigo as he jumped between them. "Now there are two people in my room and I want to know what is going on!"

"I want to join you" said Shana quickly.

"Why?" asked Ichigo.

"Well… I… uh…" started Shana.

"Why should we trust anything you say?" demanded the white-haired soul reaper.

"I don't want to work for Aizen anymore. All he does is waste my time and I really don't like him. I want to help you" explained Shana. "Not only that but I'm already marked as a traitor… I have nowhere else to go."  
Both boys seemed confused.

"If I was going to kill you, I would have already" she added.

The white-haired shinigami scoffed "We need to get going. Ichigo, you need to come with me."

Ichigo nodded and followed him, stopping for a moment and turning to Shana. "If you want me to trust you, I want you to stay here until I get back" he said.

"Okay" said Shana with a nod. Ichigo was shocked at how quickly and easily she complied.

He took off to follow the other. She sat on his bed and sighed. 'Maybe it is love but I don't understand it' she thought.

When Ichigo came back he was surprised to see that she was sleeping on his bed. 'Maybe she's not so bad' he thought. He walked over and brushed a strand of hair out of her face just grazing her cheek with his finger. Her skin was soft and he reached out to touch it again but she suddenly stirred and opened her eyes.

****Shana's POV****

I opened my eyes to find Ichigo staring down at me. How long had I been asleep? "What happened?" I asked as I sat up and stretched a little.

"Orihime has been taken to Hueco Mundo" he answered. "I'm going to get her back."

I felt a pang of jealousy. It sounded like he really cared for this girl. At the same time, I was worried for him. Hueco Mundo was not a friendly place. "I'll go with you. I know the terrain and I know where to go and how to get there" I said. I felt like I was begging.

"No" he said. "I can't trust that you won't betray us. I need you to stay here if you really want me to trust you."

"That again? I thought staying here the first time earned your trust" I argued, feeling a bit betrayed.

"Look, just say here. You'll do it if you want my trust" he stated.

"Why can't I go?" I yelled.

"Why do you keep insisting on going?" he yelled back.

"I don't think you'd understand" I replied.

"Try me!" he yelled getting right in my face.

In one swift and fast motion, I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. At first he seemed shocked and startled at my actions but then he reacted. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. His actions shocked me and made me gasp. He took the short opportunity to slide his tongue in my mouth. For a moment he massaged my tongue with his and then he broke the kiss. I felt my face heat up as he looked down into my eyes.

"I think I do understand" he said. "I don't want you to go. You became a traitor for me. If you went back now, they would probably try harder to kill you than to kill me."

"But I'm not weak! I used to be…" Ichigo cut me off.

"I know that you're a former captain of the eleventh division. Yoruichi told us that" said Ichigo. "I don't care. Remember when I told you that I didn't fight girls? Well, it was different than that… I didn't want to fight you."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Call it what you want… call it love at first sight! I couldn't bring myself to injure you. I couldn't get my mind off of you after you left. I really do trust you but I don't want to see you hurt" he said.

"Are you sure you want the love of a traitor?" I asked after a pause.

"Yes' he said as he kissed me passionately one more time. "I do."


End file.
